Mike Conley Produced ‘Two Distant Strangers’ Earns Oscar Nom

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It’s been a busy awards season for Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley. After being named to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, the guard’s short film “Two Distant Strangers” earned an Oscar nomination for the Live Action Short Film category.

Conley served as an executive producer of the film that was released in November of 2020.

The film is about a Black man stuck in a loop, repeatedly killed by the same police officer and trying to figure out how to break the cycle.

I had the privilege of executive producing the short film @TwoDistantFilm, a powerful story that touches on the experiences we faced this summer. This film has the opportunity to start meaningful conversations and continue involvement in these issues. #TwoDistantStrangers @Travon pic.twitter.com/MYemPpwPTC

— Mike Conley (@MCONLEY10) January 16, 2021

The short was directed by Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe, and marked Conley’s first venture into filmmaking.

The Jazz guard also shares his Executive Producer credit with Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant who helped the film get made.

“If you’re not African American you immediately think of what the individual might have done wrong in those situations to give the police a reason to shoot. And it’s been so hard to explain how that just isn’t a reality for us,” Conley told Slam Magazine.

“So it’s just, it was a great way of portraying it and allowing I think all of us to kind of exhale a little bit that we have this film to be able to show all those examples.”

 

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Conley isn’t the first NBA player to produce an Oscar-nominated short film. In 2018, Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was nominated for “Dear Basketball,” an animated film featuring the poem he wrote to announce his retirement from basketball.

Bryant took home the Oscar at the ceremony for the short.

Conley’s teammates gathered during an off day in Houston to watch the short film, coincidentally on the same day the guilty verdict was announced in the George Floyd trial.

“For Mike to share with it us and to give his insight into the film itself, and then have an opportunity to watch it collectively as a team — the movie itself was certainly impactful,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “It was tremendous and in many respects, it was haunting and I would encourage everybody to see it.”

Conley will have to wait to see if “Two Distant Strangers” wins the Oscar, the award show will be held on April 25 in Los Angeles.